Four adventurous and hearty 1st through 3rd grade girls and their enthusiastic adult guides braved the sweltering late spring heat on a Sunday afternoon to celebrate National Trails Day by hiking the trails and exploring nature at Fort Dickerson Park and Quarry. After introducing ourselves, learning about the significance of National Trails day, and having a brief history lesson about the Civil War and the importance of Fort Dickerson, we practiced our reading skills to learn about the leave-no-trace principles. Next, we were off down, down, down a winding trail through woods where we saw fungus growing out of a tree trunk, several different pretty wild flowers, and a mysterious hole for a rabbit or a possum or a beaver perhaps! Once down off the mountain we continued our journey on a path leading to a quarry filled with emerald green water. We stopped there to rest our weary feet, enjoy the shade, and partake in some refreshments. After that time we took a leisurely stroll back down the path where we spotted wild strawberries, a beautiful butterfly, a hawk circling above our heads, all the while practicing our leave-no-trace principles by picking up trash that we spotted along the trail. We finally arrived back to awaiting parents and caregivers eager to share with them our stories of the adventures from our awesome outing. We look forward to future hikes with this spirited group young adventurers on future hikes!

Hikers must be registered to participate. Each hike is limited to 12 hikers and usually must have a minimum of 6 hikers. Registration will close on June 4.

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

Please remember that each hiker must have a completed Health History Record on file.Your child’s immunization record is required as part of the form, and this can be obtained from your pediatrician. You can scan and email the form to knoxgirlsoutside@gmail.com before the hike or bring the completed form on the day of the hike. This form will be kept on file for future hikes, so you only have to fill it out once.

Each hike begins with a fun get-t0-know-you game and a brief lesson, from Leave No Trace principles to fun historical facts about the trail and everything in between. Wear weather-appropriate clothing and bring water and light snacks.

While the mission of Girls Outside is to enjoy nature, we also hope these outings foster independence and so we encourage parents to let their girls do the hike on their own as a part of the group. Remember to leave electronic devices at home to better enjoy time in nature.

Last weekend six adventuring Brownie Girl Scouts, their troop leaders, and two Girls Outside guides hiked Ijams’ Meads Quarry and Ross Marble areas. The young hikers had eagle eyes and spotted so many neat things — almost immediately they sighted Tree Swallows circling nearby and a Turkey Vulture soaring on the horizon. Lemon trillium wildflowers were blooming down in the old quarry, and beautiful large shelf fungi were growing out of the trees. One hiker spotted a tame skink that everyone got a good look at! Last October these girls looked for birds with Girls Outside at one of their troop meetings. This was their long-awaited chance to get on the trail with G.O. and try out their binoculars and guidebooks in the field. At the end of the hike, girls mentioned seeing birds and the snack break as being highlights. One girl told us she had never been on a hike before — so glad she got to go on her first one with us!

Last week Girls Outside guide Lisa visited with Rocky Hill Elementary School Daisies to talk about hiking and helped them earn their “make the world a better place” petal! This troop of 1st grader girls met outside on the lawn area and playground of the school where they helped Lisa pack her hiking backpack — healthy snacks, jacket, sun screen, sun glasses and water, check! So sorry, stuffed Ernie and pet rock, we decided together that they must stay home! Then, the girls practiced their reading skills and discussed the principles of outdoor ethics called Leave No Trace, impressing Lisa with their knowledge by giving great examples of what to do and what to not do to care for our special outdoor places. The girls also shared about their favorite things to do outside — high on the list was playing with friends, hiking, and riding their bikes. These girls are more than ready to hike now! They hope to join in a Girls Outside hike this fall to put their knowledge to good use.

Celebrate Earth Day with Girls Outside by getting out in nature! Join us for our final hike of the spring season on Sunday, April 26th from 2-5 PM. Please mark your calendars! This hike will be for girls in grades 4-6 at the UT Arboretum. This hike location was so successful for the younger girls we decided that the older girls would enjoy this hiking location as well!

The hike will finish at the same spot at 5 PM. The hike will be no longer than 3 miles.

The UT Arboretum is 15 minutes from West Knoxville. A project of the University of Tennessee Forest Resources Research and Education Center, it is free and open to the public. It is a wonderful place for young explorers to see over 800 species of plants, and the history of land use in our area.

On our hike, we will cover approximately 3 miles on several different trails. Be sure to look for “trees with knees” as we start out on the White Pine Trail and Marsh Area, as well as awesome views up above a river bed and through a natural forest. Further along on Rock Pile lead we’ll look for evidence of early settlers tied to the name of this trail. We will end up back where we started and extra time can be used to explore the Visitor’s Center Wildflower Garden.

Your leader for this hike will be Lisa Silverman. For further information please feel free to contact Lisa at knoxgirlsoutside@gmail.

Please remember that each hiker must have a completed Health History Record on file. You may access, download, and print the form here.Your child’s immunization record is required as part of the form, and this can be obtained from your pediatrician. You can scan and email the form to knoxgirlsoutside@gmail.com before the hike or bring the completed form on the day of the hike. This form will be kept on file for future hikes, so you only have to fill it out once.

Each hike begins with a fun get-to-know-you game and a brief lesson, from Leave No Trace principles to fun historical facts about the trail and everything in between. Wear weather-appropriate clothing and bring water and light snacks.

While the mission of Girls Outside is to enjoy nature, we also hope these outings foster independence and so we encourage parents to let their girls do the hike on their own as a part of the group. Remember to leave electronic devices at home to better enjoy time in nature.

This hike is free! Help us spread the word or invite a friend’s child by sharing our girlsoutside.org link. Here’s a handy flyer for posting! To see the fun we have on our hikes, visit our photo gallery on Facebook.

Sorry, we are no longer accepting registrations for this hike. Please check back for future hikes in the fall of 2015.

Well, you know what they say, “Third times the charm.” After two previous attempts were rained out for hiking at the UT Arboretum, 9 intrepid young ladies and four adult women hike guides participated in last Sunday’s Girls Outside hike. After practicing our reading skills and discussing the Leave No Trace Principles the girls were ready to practice what they learned. Each girl also received a plastic tag with these principles to keep.

The weather was glorious, and the girls’ explorer spirits were infectious! Our resident documentarian filled five post it notes with observations and discoveries including mangrove trees, beech trees, Cumberland Mountains, sedimentary rock, acorns, walnuts, moss, fungus, bark, and scat! We hiked about two miles in total up and over a ridge, and mostly through the lovely woods the whole way. For more pictures click here.

Come along as we explore new territory at the UT Arboretum on Sunday March 29 from 2 – 4pm. This hike is a free event for girls in grades 1 – 3. All hikers must be registered by Thursday March 26 and have a completed health history form on file with Girls Outside in order to participate (information below).

The UT Arboretum is 15 minutes from West Knoxville. A project of the University of Tennessee Forest Resources Research and Education Center, it is free and open to the public. It is a wonderful place for young explorers to see over 800 species of plants, and the history of land use in our area.

On our hike, we will cover approximately 2 miles on as many as five different trails. Be sure to look for “trees with knees” as we start out on the White Pine Trail and Marsh Area. Further along on Rock Pile lead we’ll look for evidence of early settlers tied to the name of this trail. We will end up back where we started and extra time can be used to explore the Visitor’s Center Wildflower Garden.

Who: Hike Leader is Lisa Silverman. Registration details and questions will be handled by Miriam Davis. The hike is open to girls in grades 1 – 3. Every G.O. hike has at least four women volunteer chaperones, eager to share their passion for the outdoors with the next generation. The minimum number of hikers is usually six, and the maximum is 12.

Please remember that each hiker must have a completed Health History Record on file with Girls Outside.Your child’s immunization record is required as part of the form. You can scan and email the form to knoxgirlsoutside@gmail.com before the hike or bring the completed form on the day of the hike. This form will be kept on file for future hikes within the same calendar year, so you only have to fill it out once, unless the health history has changed, in which case a new form must be completed.

Each hike begins with a fun get-to-know-you game and a brief lesson, from Leave No Trace principles to fun historical facts about the trail and everything in between. Wear weather-appropriate clothing and bring water and light snacks.

While the mission of Girls Outside is to enjoy nature, we also hope these outings foster independence and so we encourage parents to let their girls do the hike on their own as a part of the group. Remember to leave electronic devices at home to better enjoy time in nature.

Sorry there is no rain date.

These hikes are free! Help us spread the word or invite a friend’s child by sharing ourgirlsoutside.org link and this pdf flyer. To see the fun we have on our hikes, visit our photo gallery on Facebook.